2/28/10 Beech Mountain

Gray rainy weather continues but we needed a good hike so off we went. We parked at the south end of Long Pond and this is the view out the windshield.


We started up the West Ridge Trail though I thought it might be difficult. It starts through woods next to Long Pond and there was little snow or ice.

The trail soon turns inland and starts a fairly steep climb and becomes rocky but again no ice to contend with.



Open ledges provide nice views of Long Pond

At the summit is the only fire tower left on the Acadia mountains. It is no longer used.

And a view from the summit. We had an apple snack and headed back down the West Ridge Trail to the intersection with the Beech Mountain Trail ( called the Beech Mountain loop on some maps).
We think this is a prettier trail than the other that leads to the same parking area north of the mountain and it has some grand views. This trail was, however, quite snowy and icy in spots.



From the parking area we took the Valley Trail to complete our loop back to Long Pond. This trail is fairly flat with nice woods and interesting rock formations.


When we got back to Long Pond we went a short distance on the Long Pond Trail to check it's condition for a possible future hike. It started out fine but then became extremely icy and we turned back. 3 hours